Before the Vampire Fruit evolved into the True Ancestor Fruit, Lloyd already possessed the ability to vanish within darkness itself, an invisibility so complete that even his presence could be erased.
After the fruit awakened into the True Ancestor Fruit, that ability reached an even greater level. Lloyd could spread an enormous sea of dark mist, hiding both himself and everything enveloped by it. That was precisely why Lindbergh and the others had failed to notice the approaching fleet of warships.
By the time they realized what had happened, the Navy had already trapped the Revolutionary Army with no route of escape.
Lindbergh clutched his shattered arm, his face pale as he stared at the countless warships filling the horizon.
Koala, who had been pinned beneath him, suddenly burst into hysterical laughter.
"Hahaha! The end of your Revolutionary Army has finally come!"
The instant those words left her mouth, her body exploded without warning. Countless arrows of blood shot outward, piercing several nearby Revolutionary Army members.
Although Lindbergh protected himself with Armament Haki, blocking most of the attack, strands of his fur were still stained crimson, leaving him in an even more miserable state.
Luffy clenched his fists tightly as the white flame-like clouds swirling behind him began to churn violently.
"Nami, Chopper, Brook, get back! Once this fight starts, I won't be able to protect you!"
Nami nodded immediately and retreated alongside Chopper and Brook.
High above them, Lloyd looked down with an indifferent expression. His voice, infused with Conqueror's Haki, spread across the entire battlefield.
"Target Gott Island, fire."
The order had barely been given before every warship unleashed its cannons.
A storm of artillery shells rained down upon Gott Island, forming a black curtain that blotted out the sky.
Explosions and screams echoed across the battlefield. Anyone whose Haki had not reached a sufficient level was completely incapable of surviving such relentless bombardment. Within moments, countless people were torn apart.
As for those who had never mastered Haki at all, they were nothing more than cannon fodder.
Dragging his wounded body, Lindbergh desperately weaved through the endless explosions. Whenever he could no longer evade them, he was forced to rely on Armament Haki to survive.
Luffy let out a strange cry and kicked off the empty air, charging into the sky. As he ascended, his body expanded dramatically, using his gigantic form to intercept enormous numbers of shells.
The incredible durability granted by his Nika form allowed him to ignore the explosions entirely, and with his overwhelming elasticity, he even bounced many of the shells back toward the fleet.
Watching Luffy leap through the sky, Lloyd narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Stop the bombardment."
The endless cannon fire ceased.
At this point, fewer than a thousand members of the Revolutionary Army remained alive on Gott Island. Every survivor was covered in dust and blood, their bodies riddled with injuries.
Whoosh!
A pair of pitch-black wings unfolded behind Lloyd.
Without even turning his head, he spoke a single sentence to Lucia beside him.
"Leave none alive."
The next moment, his wings beat once, and his figure shot into the sky like a streak of black lightning.
Lucia slowly drew the blade at her waist and gazed coldly at the Revolutionary Army below.
"All forces, land on the island. Exterminate every member of the Revolutionary Army."
Under Lindbergh's despairing gaze, the Navy surged forward like a massive white tide, instantly swallowing what remained of the Revolutionary Army.
In the sky above the battlefield, Lloyd's figure flashed forward and stopped directly in front of Luffy.
He made no move to attack. Instead, he simply looked at him and spoke in a flat tone.
"I truly didn't expect you could stand there and watch your grandfather die."
The words struck Luffy like a blade.
His expression twisted with pain.
"No... that wasn't me! I didn't want Grandpa to die! I just... I just couldn't control myself!"
A faint smile appeared on Lloyd's face.
"The Nika Fruit is supposed to embody freedom itself, yet it can't even control its own host? That's almost amusing."
"SHUT UP!!!"
Lloyd had spoken only a few sentences, but they completely shattered Luffy's composure.
Roaring in fury, Luffy clenched his fists and charged forward.
His punch exploded toward Lloyd.
Lloyd casually raised one hand and blocked it.
Glancing at the fist pressing against his palm, he said,
"You seem weaker than before. Did you forget to eat? Or perhaps you should hurry and call Joy Boy out."
Luffy gritted his teeth.
"I don't need him! This is my body!"
As he roared, thick white steam erupted from his body, and the muscles in his arm swelled dramatically.
Lloyd felt the increasing force pressing against his hand. He gave a small nod.
"Better. But still not enough."
Suddenly, he grabbed Luffy's fist and yanked him forward.
Before Luffy could react, a fist coated in Armament Haki slammed directly into his face.
The terrifying impact blasted him from the sky and drove him into the earth below.
The ground shattered apart, countless spiderweb-like cracks spreading across the battlefield.
For a brief moment, everything fell silent.
Then, a slow, rhythmic drumming echoed from the depths of the crater.
Boom... boom... boom...
The ground itself seemed to pulse alongside the strange heartbeat.
In the next instant, a white figure shot out from the rubble.
Luffy landed in a half-crouch.
As he raised his head, two streams of blood ran from his nose.
Lloyd descended slowly, crossing his arms.
With a mere thought, the shadows beneath his feet condensed into a massive dark spear.
The weapon shot forward, tearing through the air toward Luffy.
Luffy instantly brought his palms together, trapping the spearhead between them.
He tried to crush it.
He couldn't.
No matter how much strength he exerted, the dark spear remained completely intact.
Worse still, its tip continued inching closer and closer to his chest.
It was about to pierce his heart.
At that very moment, the silent voice within him finally spoke.
"Luffy, haven't you realized the truth yet? Without my power, you'll never defeat the Celestial Dragons."
Still resisting the spear with all his strength, Luffy gritted his teeth.
"No! I can do it! This is my body! There's no reason things have to be this way!"
Crackle!
Black and red lightning erupted from his body as Conqueror's Haki burst forth.
Luffy unleashed every ounce of strength he possessed.
Throwing his head back, he let out a furious roar and finally forced the dark spear aside.
The blade scraped across his shoulder before flying off into the distance.
Drip.
Drip.
Blood flowed from the wound, splashing onto the shattered ground.
Although he had been injured, a look of exhilaration spread across Luffy's face.
For the first time in what felt like forever, he believed he had relied solely on his own power.
He had resisted the attack of a Celestial Dragon without borrowing anyone else's strength.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Lloyd slowly applauded.
"Not bad. It seems you really didn't ask your substitute for help this time."
Luffy instantly understood that the "substitute" Lloyd referred to was Joy Boy.
He snorted and was about to reply.
But the sight before him caused his eyes to widen, and every word became trapped in his throat.
Behind Lloyd, eight enormous masses of darkness slowly rose into the air.
The shadows twisted and hardened, transforming into eight gigan
tic black spears.
Their razor-sharp tips gleamed with a chilling, pitch-black light.
Lloyd looked at him with the same indifferent expression.
"This time, how are you going to stop them?"
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